SMSTS exam new format success
1 November 2021
It's likely the SSSTS exam format will follow suit as the new style SMSTS exam is regarded as a fairer structure for delegates.
How the SMSTS exam process changed
The original SMSTS course exam paper was 20 multiple choice questions and 5 written answer questions. Each multiple choice question was worth 1 point, and the written questions were worth 2 points. The pass mark was 80%, so 24 points out of a possible 30. However, within multiple choice questions, there were 5 safety critical questions - get one of these wrong and you could fail, even if you had achieved a score of 96%.
The new SMSTS exam format is much fairer
The exam format changed earlier this year and has been regarded as a much better way to attain the measure of an individuals knowledge and understanding of the health and safety implications on site. There are now 18 multiple choice questions and 7 written answers, with the written answers containing the safety critical elements. This means the answers are more in context and to pass requires a simple score of 80% or higher.
SSSTS exam rumoured to follow suit
The SSSTS course exam currently incorporates the original SMSTS format, with 22 multiple choice questions, of which 4 are safety critical, and 3 written answers. This means that even if a candidate achieved a 96% score, but the lost marks were on a safety critical multiple choice question, they would fail. It seems that with the success of the new format SMSTS exam, the SSSTS course assessment should be reevaluated to follow suit.
